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LA Johnson/NPR
NPR Ed
4 In 10 U.S. Teens Say They Haven't Done Online Learning Since Schools Closed
Anya Kamenetz
April 8, 2020
With most schools closed nationwide because of the coronavirus
pandemic, a national poll of young people ages 13 to 17 suggests
distance learning has been far from a universal substitute.
The poll of 849 teenagers, by Common Sense Media, conducted with
SurveyMonkey, found that as schools across the country transition to
some form of online learning, 41% of teenagers overall, including 47%
of public school students, say they haven't attended a single online or
virtual class.
This broad lack of engagement with online learning could be due to many
factors. The survey was conducted between March 24 and April 1; some
districts may have been on spring break or not have begun regular
online classes.
There are also resource gaps. In the past few weeks, school districts
have purchased and started loaning out hundreds of thousands of laptops
and tablets and worked with telecom providers to get families set up
with Internet. But the need is large. Before the pandemic, it was
estimated that about 12 million students had no broadband access at
home.
There is a big gap between public and private school students in the
survey, with 47% of public school students saying they have not
attended a class, compared with just 18% of private school students.
The survey suggests the nation's young people also have a lot on their
minds to distract them from online learning. It found that 4 out of 5
teens say they're following news about the coronavirus pandemic
closely. More than 60% said they are worried that they, or someone in
their family, will be exposed to the virus and that it will have an
effect on their family's ability to earn a living. Those numbers were
significantly higher among teenagers of color.
Jose Luis Vilson, a middle school teacher in the Washington Heights
section of New York City, says those findings echo what he's seeing
among his students. "You think about the vast majority of the kids,
they're going through their own levels of stress," he said.
Engaging them right now, in a city that has been at the center of one
of the worst outbreaks of the coronavirus, he added, is challenging,
and not just for technical reasons: "There are hundreds of cases just
within the school district that I work in of COVID-19."
And, Vilson adds, many of those students have parents or family members
who are essential workers, such as nurses, doctors and home health care
aides. "So really, we as educators have to be mindful of all those
things."
A majority of teens in the survey, 56%, said not being able to keep up
with their schoolwork worried them. African American (66%) and
Hispanic/Latino (70%) teens were significantly more likely than white
teens to report being worried.
Research done in past disasters suggests that it is teenagers who are
the most at risk when school is interrupted. Many are forced to work to
earn money or have stay home and take care of younger siblings. They
are more likely to drop out and less likely to go on to college.
But, experts say, keeping young people connected to a community
improves their future chances. From that point of view, it's a bright
spot that most teens say that they're connecting with friends or family
outside their household every day, using texting, social media and the
old-fashioned telephone. And 68% say they are keeping in regular touch
with school, at least by email.
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